


(Not So) Alone For Christmas

by Summer_rain99



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Becky is a cutie, Charlotte is a sad bean, Christmas fic, Coffeeshop AU, F/F, Pre Relationship, also i wrote it in the middle of the night, but enjoy, just a soft au, oneshot with potential addition, this is entirely rushed and not at all spell checked, uhhh fluff i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 12:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_rain99/pseuds/Summer_rain99
Summary: Prompt: Character A is stuck working in coffee shop on Christmas Day and Character B is the lonely soul spending their whole day there.





	(Not So) Alone For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is just a super short Charlynch Christmas fic. I originally intended it to be longer (and much better) but I ran out of time. If anyone wants a second part feel free to comment and I'll finish it! Anyway i hope you enjoy my 3-hours-of-sleep ramblings!  
> (Lil note, garage in this context means the same as shop in America (I'm British))

Becky absolutely hated working on Christmas. She was alone, of course, because all her coworkers had had the balls to actually tell the boss they were too busy to work. But Becky, being Becky, had nodded and smiled and agreed when a stressed out Nattie had asked if she was free to work on Christmas Day. Why the coffeeshop was even open today, she didn’t understand. So far, maybe two customers had passed through since she opened up this morning and she was starting to get severely bored. It'd only been an hour or two, but she'd already rearranged the shelves, restocked everything she could find to restock, cleaned the back room,... Now she found herself with decidedly nothing to do. 

It wasn't the worst thing in the world though, she supposed. She didn't have plans anyway, what with not having enough money to make it back home to Ireland to see her family this year. That sucked, but they had plans to Skype later and try to catch up. Her best friends Bayley and Sasha had invited her to join their Christmas, but Becky was the kind of person that believed that Christmas was a family affair. She'd turned down the offer politely. 

But now here she was, alone and bored on Christmas Day. Just as she was about to pull out her phone, the little bell above the door rang to signal someone entering. Grateful for the distraction, she straightened up and smiled. She instantly became even more grateful, however, when she caught sight of the customer; the woman who had just walked in the door was absolutely stunning. She was taller than Becky, even in flats, with legs that went on for days. Long blonde hair tumbled in ringlets down her back from under her adorable Christmas-themed hat. Despite being bundled up in a thick coat and a long scarf, her cheeks glowed from the cold. Becky watched as she set down her things on one of the tables in the corner, removing her hat, scarf and coat as she did. Wait. Setting down her things. Becky lit up. Whoever this woman was, she was planning on being here for a while. 

Tall blonde stranger moved up to the counter to order, and Becky noted that she was wearing an adorable, bright red Christmas jumper. Reindeer and snowflakes covered her chest and arms, bordered by the words Merry Christmas in a loopy font. On her, it was the best article of clothing Becky had ever seen. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that it gave her an excuse to stare at her chest slightly longer than socially acceptable.

She offered Becky a smile before turning her attention to the menu hanging above their heads. Her eyes, a  lovely blue green colour that sparkled just so in the soft light of the coffee shop, scanned the menu slowly.  Becky was glad she was distracted, because it offered her an opportunity to recover from that quite frankly gorgeous smile. She was still staring when the woman looked back at her, causing a light blush to dust her cheeks. 

“Good morning,” Becky greeted cheerfully. She winced - her retail voice just a little too bright. Mentally, she cursed. “Merry Christmas,” she tacked on, trying to make her voice more genuine and welcoming.

“Merry Christmas to you too - Becky.” The stranger had paused to read her name tag, and Becky smiled broadly.

“What can I get you?” She ordered a large cup of tea, Becky's own favourite. Grinning, she congratulated her on her choice. ”What’s your name?” It wasn't like Becky needed it, seeing as the tall blonde was her only customer, but she wanted to know. The tone of her voice was borderline flirtatious, but the other woman didn’t seem to mind. 

“Charlotte,” the woman responded, almost shyly. Becky thought she might be blushing slightly, but brushed off the thought. There’s no way a woman that gorgeous would be flustered by such a tiny show of flirting from a barista, of all people. Instead of dwelling on that slightly depressing notion, she penned the name down neatly on the festive green paper cup, tacking on a little smiley face at the end. 

“Nice to meet you, Charlotte,” Becky responded, looking back at her. “You can go sit if you want, I'll bring it over.” Charlotte beamed at her, offered her a soft thank you and a nod before heading back to her seat. Becky made a valiant effort not to stare as she walked away; as tempting as ogling her thighs was, she was still at work, and professionalism was key. After setting the water to boil, Becky pulled out her phone and shot off a quick text to Sasha. _Holy shit, incredibly hot blonde bombshell just came in. Thank you Christmas Gods!_ Her reply was nearly instant, and so typically Sasha. _Flirt with her! Christmas romance? Or at least Christmas hookup?_ _Send me a sneaky pic on Snapchat!_ Followed by a winky face. She suppressed her laughter at her best friend’s antics, then tucked her phone back into the pocket of her jeans. 

Again, her attention was drawn to the woman across the room. She was frowning at her laptop, tapping her pen on her notepad. Becky would've guessed she was trying to focus, but she seemed distracted, troubled. Of course she did, she was alone on Christmas Day. Becky felt as though she could watch her for hours and never get bored. She was honestly stunned by how gorgeous she was, but that wasn’t what held her attention. There was an aura to her, the kind that drew Becky in, enticed her endlessly.  _ Please god let her be gay _ , she thought to herself. 

She finished up the tea carefully before setting it aside. There were fresh, Christmas tree shaped brownies resting on a tray behind the display window, and Becky only hesitated for a second to grab one. She placed it on a napkin and picked both it and the tea up, before heading over to Charlotte’s table. In the moment it took to get there, she’d already started to doubt herself. What if she didn’t like brownies, or was offended by Becky giving her one? But it was too late to change her mind, so she soldiered on, stepping up to the table.

“Here you go.” She announced her presence cheerfully to cover her nerves, setting both items down carefully. To her surprise, her voice remained steady. “Your tea, and a complimentary brownie. Enjoy.” Charlotte looked up, surprised, but not unpleasantly so. In fact, Becky’s efforts earned her another sweet smile.

“That’s so sweet, thank you so much.” Her voice held genuine gratitude, as did the smile, and Becky felt triumphant. “How much do I owe you?” Charlotte reached for her purse, but she waved the other woman off.

“It’s on the house,” Becky finished with a grin and a wink (that she hoped was well received). She just caught the smile that graced her customer’s face when she noticed the smiley face before she turned to head back behind the counter. 

“Wait!” The woman, Charlotte, called out to her. Becky turned, wondering if she'd somehow messed up the order. But no, she was smiling at her tentatively - decidedly not the usual expression worn by people about to complain. She cocked her head sideways questioningly. “Thank you. You didn’t need to do that, but I appreciate it.” Charlotte paused, a look of indecision on her face, then blushed. “Would you like to join me? It's just, you seem bored over there.” Her fingers played nervously with her sleeve, but she didn't drop her eyes. Becky grinned. 

“I'd love to,” she responded, taking a seat in the chair opposite her. Charlotte offered her another smile, cheeks still rosy with her blush. Honestly, she was so beautiful. “You're right, it is quite boring standing around waiting for customers that probably aren't coming.” Charlotte laughed, closing her laptop gently. 

“Not to mention that it's Christmas, and you're all by yourself,” came her reply, voice sympathetic. 

“Well, I'm not entirely by myself, am I now.” Her quip had Charlotte chuckling gently and Becky decided instantly that she loved both Charlotte’s laugh and being the reason for it. 

“I guess not,” she responded wryly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Becky didn't miss the hint of sadness in her features. 

“So, Miss Charlotte, I have to ask. What brings you here, of all places, on Christmas Day?” Her voice was light, teasing almost, but careful; she didn't want to upset the other woman. She kept her pose casual, but she was burning with curiosity. Why was Charlotte so beautifully sad? Her companion ducked her head a little then, fixing her eyes on her lap. When she spoke, she couldn't quite hide the sadness in her tone. 

“Oh well normally I spend Christmas with my dad, but he’s out of state on business. And well, I don’t really have anyone else.” Charlotte trailed off then, voice quiet. In that moment she looked small, and so lonely it made the beat of Becky’s heart feel painful. She bounced back quickly though, shooting Becky an almost-convincing smile. “So here I am. What about you? What kind of cruel boss makes a girl work on Christmas?” Her voice was playful, teasing, and Becky could tell she wanted to move away from the subject, so she humoured her. She chuckled.

“Nah, Nattie’s alright. I agreed to work, actually. I didn’t really have any plans.” Charlotte’s look was curious, encouraging her to elaborate. “I’m Irish, in case you couldn’t tell,” a bemused smile crossed her face before she continued. “And tickets across the Atlantic don’t exactly come cheap; as nice as this place is, it won’t make me a millionaire any time soon. Figured I might as well get the extra work day in.” The look Charlotte shot her then was sympathetic, despite her little giggle at Becky’s joke.

“Well Becky,” - a rush shot through her when Charlotte used her name - “We might not be where we want to be this Christmas, but at least we have each other.” Her smile was dazzling, and Becky didn’t hesitate to return it with an equally wide grin.

After that, they talked for hours. Becky kept them stocked up on tea, much to Charlotte’s delight, and no one else came into the coffee shop. It was almost as if the universe had decided that this, this fateful meeting, was not to be interrupted. At first they kept to small talk, chattering about inconsequential things like the weather and recent news, but as the hours passed, their conversation grew steadily deeper. Despite not typically being the talking type, she felt herself easing up the more she and Charlotte spoke. 

Becky talked about her aspirations, mostly. She told Charlotte about how she wanted to open her own garage, that this job was only temporary. Charlotte listened intently to her every second that she spoke, so much so that Becky almost blushed under the attention. She told Charlotte about how she came to America to study and ended up not wanting to leave. When she had talked about how much she missed her family and how lonely she'd been when she first arrived, Charlotte had squeezed her hand to comfort her. She did it mindlessly almost, blushing deeply when she realised what she'd done. Becky held tight when Charlotte went to pull away, matching her blush. 

Charlotte talked about wanting to make a name for herself, to step out of her father’s shadow. She worked for his company, Becky had learned, but she'd always wanted to start out on her own. Apparently though, no one would take her seriously; no investor considered her capable in her own right, despite having a degree. Becky could almost feel Charlotte's frustration for herself, her indignation. She told Becky about how ever since she was a kid, her peers only ever wanted two things from her; money or fame, never her friendship. They never just wanted to be her friend. Then her mother had left, and her trust had been permanently shaken. 

She looked painfully vulnerable when she told Becky how lonely her life was, her blue-green eyes shining with unshed tears. This time it was her turn to squeeze Charlotte's hand. She didn't understand, couldn't understand, how anyone could hurt her. Becky didn't question what made her different, what made Charlotte trust her - she too felt like this interaction, this day, was happening on some other plane of existence where the rules didn't seem to apply. 

It was strange, Becky thought, that she would feel so comfortable revealing her deepest feelings to someone who had been a stranger mere hours ago. But it wasn’t so strange, not really, because Charlotte wasn’t a stranger anymore. Now she was entrancing, enticing, downright intoxicating. She felt familiar to Becky now, almost like coming home. In a way, this felt like the most surreal first date she'd ever been on.  _ This is not a date _ , she reminded herself.

Six P.M. came sooner than Becky had expected (or wanted) it to. In fact, she hadn’t even noticed the time until Nattie called. She was in the middle of talking to Charlotte about their respective workouts - fitness was another thing they had in common, it seemed - when her phone started to ring. Releasing Charlotte's hand after a quick squeeze, she pulled out her phone, quickly registering Nattie’s name on her caller ID. With a quick “Sorry Char,” and an apologetic smile, she picked up. “Hey Nattie, what’s up?”

“Merry Christmas Becky! I’m just calling in quickly to see how the day went, and to apologise again actually.” Nattie sounded genuinely apologetic, and Becky chuckled good naturedly. She liked her boss; she was a good employer, sure, but she also always had time to talk if you were down or needed a shoulder to cry on. There’d been several occasions of this for Becky. She didn’t doubt that they’d remain friends once Becky finally managed to kickstart her career.

“Merry Christmas!” Becky responded with equal enthusiasm. “Everything went grand, Nat. There’s no need to apologise, truly. Is it six already?” Her eyes connected with Charlotte’s again then. She smiled, but looked slightly crestfallen. Becky had no doubt that her expression matched; six o’clock meant that they had to go their separate ways, each back to an empty apartment. Nattie continued speaking on the other end of the line, but Becky was only half listening. She didn’t want to go home by herself, and she sure as hell didn’t want Charlotte to be lonely. An idea was already formulating in her head. 

Becky finished up her phone call and ducked behind the counter to shut everything off, while Charlotte tidied away her long forgotten laptop and notebook. She took her time removing her apron and pulling on her coat over her black work polo; she knew that every step in her end of work routine took her closer to separating from Charlotte. The silence that had fallen between them was awkward, but neither wanted to break it. Neither wanted to say goodnight. 

Charlotte lingered while Becky switched off the shop lights, and they stepped out into the street together. Immediately they were bombarded by a strong gust of ice cold wind, causing her to gasp and the other woman to shiver. Her hands fumbled with the keys in her attempt to lock the door, almost as though her whole body wanted to prevent their separation, When she finally managed it she turned back to Charlotte, who looked ethereal in the glow of the streetlamp despite the uncertain look on her face. Her lip was pulled between her teeth as she chewed anxiously, and for a moment all Becky could think about was how  _ she _ wanted to be the one biting that lip. She shook off the inappropriate thought and blew out a breath, watching as it appeared in the cool air in front of her.

“So,” Charlotte began, twisting the hemline of her sleeve between her fingers again. It was her nervous tick, Becky had learned. “I guess now we say goodnight?” Disappointment washed through her at the other woman’s words; part of her had hoped Charlotte would suggest something, some way to keep in contact. Becky wasn’t sure, but she’d thought that Charlotte might just like her as much as she liked Charlotte. There was sadness in her voice again now though, and though Becky desperately wanted to erase it, it also gave her hope. 

“I guess so,” she responded quietly, not missing the way Charlotte’s shoulders dropped slightly at her words. “Unless…” Charlotte looked up sharply, an expression that looked suspiciously like hope spreading across her features. She hesitated then, unsure of what to say. If Becky was wrong, if she’d read the situation wrong, then she was about to look like a damn fool. But she knew she had to say something - she wasn’t just going to let a woman that incredible, that beautiful, slip through her fingers. She opened her mouth, unsure about what was going to come out of it until the words slipped from her lips. “Unless you wanna have dinner with me, maybe? Back at my place? I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t think you want to be alone either, so have dinner with me?” 

She was glad for the cold - it covered the dark blush rising in her cheeks. The proposition hung in the air for longer than she expected, though. Charlotte’s eyes were fixed on hers, an unreadable expression on her face, and Becky almost groaned. Had she somehow misread the whole situation? Just as she was about to fully panic and backpedal on the whole thing, a full smile broke out on the other woman’s face.

“I think I’d like that,” Charlotte answered, eyes sparkling as she scuffed the toe of her shoe on the sidewalk. Becky couldn’t help her smile as a rush of warmth spread across her chest. It wasn't a date, not yet, but it was a start. Maybe working on Christmas Day didn’t suck quite as much as she thought.

  
  



End file.
